This document relates to content presentation.
The rise of the Internet has enabled access to a wide variety of content items, e.g., video and/or audio files, web pages for particular subjects, news articles, etc. Such access to these content items has likewise enabled opportunities for targeted advertising. For example, content items of particular interest to a user can be identified by a search engine in response to a user query. The query can include one or more search terms, and the search engine can identify and, optionally, rank the content items based on the search terms in the query and present the content items to the user (e.g., according to the rank). This query can also be an indicator of the type of information of interest to the user. By comparing the user query to a list of keywords specified by an advertiser, it is possible to provide targeted advertisements to the user.
Another form of online advertising is advertisement syndication, which allows advertisers to extend their marketing reach by distributing advertisements to additional partners for presentation in available placements. In an online environment, placements are subsets of a content network. For example, a placement can be any web property, e.g., a website, a domain, or subset of web pages, etc., where an advertiser can place content items (e.g., advertisements). In other implementations for other media, a placement can be a media property that can be used to publish a content item, such as an advertisement.
Through syndication, third party (e.g., online) publishers can place an advertiser's text, audio or image advertisements in placements (e.g., advertisement slots) on web pages that have content related to the advertisement. As the users are likely interested in the particular content on the publisher webpage, they are also likely to be interested in the product or service featured in the advertisement. Accordingly, such targeted placement can help drive online customers to the advertiser's website.
To place advertisements either through a search engine or through advertising syndication, an advertiser can participate in a spot market auction. In the spot market auction, placements for the advertisements are auctioned at the time of serving. In these situations, advertisers submit bids and await the outcome of the auction to learn whether their advertisement is served in the placement. The spot market auctions, however, do not facilitate purchasing of placements in advance of their availability.